Contrary to those who choose to persecute or lie about us wish to believe, Wicca is a very peaceful, harmonious, balanced way of thinking and a life which promotes oneness with the divine and all which exists. Wicca is a deep appreciation and awe in watching the sunrise or sunset, the forest in the light of a glowing moon, a meadow enchanted by the first light of day. It is the morning dew on the petals of a beautiful flower, the gentle caress of a warm summer breeze upon your skin, or the warmth of the summer sun on your face. Wicca is the fall of colorful autumn leaves, and the softness of winter snow. It is light, and shadow and all that lies in between. It is the song of the birds and other creatures of the wild. It is being in the presence of Mother Earth's nature and being humbled in reverence. When we are in the temple of the Lord and Lady, we are not prone to the arrogance of human technology as they touch our souls. To be a Witch is to be a healer, a teacher, a seeker, a giver, and a protector of all things. Wicca is a belief system and way of life based upon the reconstruction of pre-Christian traditions originating in Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. While much of the information of how our ancestors lived, worshiped and believed has been lost due to the efforts of the medieval church to wipe our existence from history, we try to reconstruct those beliefs to the best of our ability with the information that is available. Thanks to archaeological discoveries, we now have basis to believe that the origins of our belief system can be traced even further back to the Paleolithic peoples who worshipped a Hunter God and a Fertility Goddess. With the discovery of these cave paintings estimated to be around 30,000 years old depicting a man with the head of a stag and a pregnant woman standing in a circle with eleven other people, it can reasonably be assumed that Witchcraft is one of the oldest belief systems known in the world today. These archetypes are clearly recognized by Wiccans as our view of the Goddess and God aspect of the supreme creative force and predate Christianity by roughly 28,000 years making it a mere toddler in the spectrum of time as we know it. Witchcraft in ancient history was known as "The Craft of the Wise" because most who followed the path were in tune with the forces of nature, had a knowledge of Herbs and medicines, gave council and were valuable parts of the village and community as Shamanic healers and leaders. They understood that mankind is not superior to nature, the earth and its creatures but instead we are simply one of the many parts, both seen and unseen that combine to make the whole. As Chief Seattle said; "We do not own the earth, we are part of it." These wise people understood that what we take or use, we must return to maintain balance and equilibrium. Clearly, modern man with all his applied learning and technology has forgotten this. Subsequently, we currently face ecological disaster and eventual extinction because of our hunger for power and a few pieces of gold. For the past several hundred years, the image of the Witch has been mistakenly associated with evil, heathenism, and unrighteousness. In my humble opinion, these misconceptions have their origin in a couple of different places. To begin, the medieval church of the 15th through 18th centuries created these myths to convert the followers of the old nature based religions to the churches' way of thinking. By making the Witch into a diabolical character and turning the old religious deities into devils and demons, the missionaries were able to attach fear to these beliefs which aided in the conversion process. Secondly, as medical science began to surface, the men who were engaged in these initial studies had a very poor understanding of female physiology, especially in the area of a women's monthly cycles. The unknowns in this area played very well with the early churches' agenda lending credence to the Witch Hunters' claims and authority. The fledgling medical professions also stood to benefit greatly from this because it took the power of the women healers away giving it to the male physicians transferring the respect and power to them. Unfortunately, these misinformed fears and superstitions have carried forward through the centuries and remain to this day. This is why many who follow these nature oriented beliefs have adopted the name of Wicca over its true name of Witchcraft to escape the persecution, harassment and misinformation associated with the name of Witchcraft and Witch, not to mention the bad publicity of the press and Hollywood has given us simply to generate a profit. Wicca is a spiritual system that fosters the free thought and will of the individual, encourages learning and an understanding of the earth and nature thereby affirming the divinity in all living things. Most importantly, however, it teaches responsibility. We accept responsibility for our actions and deeds as clearly a result of the choices we make. We do not blame an exterior entity or being for our shortcomings, weaknesses or mistakes. If we mess up or do something that brings harm to another, we have no one but ourselves to blame and we must face the consequences resulting from those actions. No ifs, ands or buts and no whining... We acknowledge the cycles of nature, the lunar phases and the seasons to celebrate our spirituality and to worship the divine. It is a belief system that allows the Witch to work with, not in supplication to deities with the intent of living in harmony and achieving balance with all things. The spells that we do involve healing, love, harmony, wisdom and creativity. The potions that we stir might be a headache remedy, a cold tonic, or an herbal flea bath for our pets. We strive to gain knowledge of and use the natural remedies placed on this earth by the divine for our benefit instead of using synthetic drugs unless absolutely necessary. Wiccans believe that the spirit of the One, Goddess and God exist in all things. In the trees, rain, flowers, the sea, in each other and all of natures creatures. This means that we must treat "all things" of the Earth as aspects of the divine. We attempt to honor and respect life in all its many manifestations both seen and unseen. Wiccans learn from and revere the gift of nature from divine creation by celebrating the cycles of the sun, moon and seasons. We search within ourselves for the cycles that correspond to those of the natural world and try to live in harmony with the movement of this universal energy. Our teachers are the trees, rivers, lakes, meadows, mountains and animals as well as others who have walked this path before us. This belief creates a reverence and respect for the environment, and all life upon the Earth. We also revere the spirits of the elements of Earth, Air, Fire and Water which combine to manifest all creation. From these four elements, we obtain insight to the rhythms of nature and understand they are also the rhythms of our own lives. Because Witches have been persecuted for so many centuries, we believe in religious freedom first! We do not look at our path as the only way to achieve spirituality, but as one path among many to the same end. We are not a missionary religion out to convert new members to think the same as we do. We are willing to share our experience and knowledge with those who seek our wisdom and perspective, however. We believe that anyone who is meant for this path will find it through their own search as the Goddess speaks to each of us in her time and way. Wiccans practice tolerance and acceptance toward all other religions as long as those faiths do not persecute others or violate the tenant of "Harm None." .

When I was born into this world, I was Baptised in the Lutheran Church, hence I was a Lutheran. But as I started to grow up I began to question my " Religion"

When I would dream I would tell my Mother and ask her "why did I dream something like that? Sometimes they were scary! She would always tell me that it was just a dream and not to worry. Well that wasn't good enough for me, I had questions and I wanted answers! I've been that way for as long as I can remember. So anyway I would go to the library and pick up books on dreams and interpretations. Well the library opened up a whole new experience for me! I found books on Tarot cards, witch craft, both good and bad, but I knew I didn't want anything to do with black magic, back then the sound of it just scared me half to death! Well when I started bringing home books on dreams and card reading, I was told that was of the devil and witchcraft, and that was bad and never to bring such books into the home again. So I didn't, I stayed at the library and read as much as I could! I was hooked on finding the answers to so many questions that filled my head but I kept it to myself as I didn't want to be different and cast out of my family and Friends, I didn't want to be shunned, that would leave me all alone in this great big world.

When my children came along ( I Married a Catholic) I thought I was now a grown up and put away my childish thing's ( My books on Magic) As the years passed, I began to have more and more questions on why I (we) were here. So I became a born again Christian and was Baptised in my Church in front of my congregation in 1998. I put everything I had into being a Christian and stuck with it as I was told to be patient and God would surely answer all my prayers. I waited and waited, 4 yrs passed as I walked the walk and talked the talk and prayed on bended knees after having two very sick babies and only praying for them and keep them safe and surround them with His Angels. Tragedy after tragedy happened and I asked Him over and over WHY ! I was a good Christian and did what I was suppose to do WHY wouldn't he answer me? I was 23 at the time. I got no answer, I'm 52 now.

Anyway after a certin age and not caring what people thought of me, I came out of the closet so to speak. I finally found out who I am and who I alway's was, a Witch. I'm Wiccan, but don't let that scare you, we don't sacrifice your children to Satan, or stick pins in Voodoo doll's or worship the devil. There is no devil in the craft, only loving and caring people who love you for who you are, Not what Religion thinks you should be. We believe in all thing's and forces of this world and beyond, Fire, Air, Earth, The Moon and the Sun and so on and so on, it was put here" all of it for all of us"

So anyway, yes I am a witch, please don't hate me for what and who I am but start asking questions like I did as a young girl, It has set me free ! You might want to try it! Love a witch and watch what happends !

Brightest Of Blessings To All Who Took The Time To Read A Little About A Witches Story !